Robbins Completes Factory Testing 1st TBM for Mumbai Metro

American tunnel boring machine (TBM) manufacturer Robbins Company has completed factory acceptance tests (FAT) in Singapore for TBM 1238 – the first of four TBMs which will be used to build a section of Mumbai Metro’s 33.5 km Line-3 tunnels between Cuffe Parade and Aarey Colony.

This Ø6.65m refurbished NFM slurry TBM, previously used to build Singapore MRT’s Thompson Line’s tunnels, will be deployed along with a new TBM by the Soma-Dogus JV to build twin tunnels on the line’s 5.259 km package UGC-03 (Mumbai Central Station – Worli Station) which was awarded by the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. in July 2016. Besides those two TBMs, the Robbins Company in the coming months will also deliver 2 new Crossover TBMs to the L&T-STEC JV for building tunnels on package UGC-01 (Cuffe Parade Station – CST Station’s South Shaft) section.

Map of Line-3’s UGC-03 (Mumbai Central – Worli) package – view Mumbai Metro information & map

Soma-Dogus’ 1st TBM for Mumbai Metro – Photo Copyright: Nimisha Singh

Photo Copyright: Nimisha Singh

Photo Copyright: Robbins

Photo Copyright: Robbins

Test erection of a segment – Photo Copyright: Robbins

View more images shot by Robbins here.

All 5 contractors of the line plan to deploy a total of 17 TBMs to construct it, and with this development 9 TBMs have passed factory acceptance tests –

• Package UGC-02 – 1 Terratec TBM in China (new)
• Package UGC-03 – 1 Robbins TBM in Singapore (refurbished)
• Package UGC-04 – 2 Herrenknecht TBMs (1st, 2nd) in China (new)
• Package UGC-05/06 – 2 Terratec TBMs in Delhi (refurbished) + 1 Terratec TBM in China (new)
• Package UGC-07 – 2 STEC TBMs in Singapore (refurbished)

Parts of UGC-04’s TBM S1073 (1st new TBM) arrived at Mumbai port on September 4.

For more updates, check out the Mumbai section of The Metro Rail Guy!

– TMRG